Tonight, I got to see a preview of Wreck-It Ralph in 3D.

If you want the short of it, it’s now one of my “Top 10″ Disney animated films.

The long of it, however, is best explained for a number of reasons. And you can start with the poster:

Basically, this is Toy Story for video games. What happens when the arcade closes for the night?

This movie has a TON of cameos, making Captain N: The Game Master look pale by comparison. You can spot dozens of games in the 30 year time progression of the arcade, from Star Wars to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to a virtual “Who’s Who” of classics. That’s nothing to say of the cameos of characters running around in “Game Central Station”. These two scenes alone are going to cause a lot of frame by frame scanning when it comes to home video. One cameo moment actually shocked me how “true to character” they were. I won’t reveal anything, but there are a few delightful nods. Surprisingly, however, is how devoid of Nintendo this movie is. Yes, Bowser is in there, and there are two other nods, but Nintendo was Read the rest of this entry

More than likely, your initial response will be the same as mine:

*pause*

“What?”

But it’s apparently very true, and despite one glaring cosmetic change, the whole concept of it is crazy awesome. It reminds me of when kids would call our hotline swearing up and down that the goofiest characters imaginable were actually in Mortal Kombat.

To all those random kids with the most bizarre of ideas, this one’s for you.

After months of talking about it, referencing “the old days”, and hoping for the best, what is the final word about the new Mortal Kombat? What did I learn about the story, the content, the play mechanics, and everything else that goes with it?

This may well be one of the best fighting games I have ever played.

And if that’s not enough, it may be the best Mortal Kombat to date. There’s a lot to like about this reboot. The amount of content and things to do is damn-near staggering. You’ll be playing this one for a while, and it’s going to take you even longer to unearth all of the hidden secrets in the game.

My favorite entry in the series was always Part 3. It may be “nostalgia blinders” due to it was my entry into the gaming industry. But I was good at it. Very good. So good that I could hang off the top of the arcade machine upside down and beat Shao Kahn. So good that I’d playtest Mortal Kombat Trilogy with one of the steering wheel peripherals. You do something for 8-12 hours a day, 5-6 days Read the rest of this entry

Big night tonight, with the midnight release of Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat. One crushes your mind through the use of clever spacial distortion, the other gets straight to the point and rips out your spine to crush your mind with it. Are you planning to go out tonight for a midnight launch in your area? Which title are you getting, or are you wanting both?

I would like to hear yours and share my own impressions in feedback to see who is looking forward to what.

As many gamers are aware of, the reboot of Mortal Kombat hits this week. The new title finally addresses and clears up the mess of the storyline by time-traveling back to the events of the first three (and best) of the game series, presenting a new take on the original material. And I am eagerly anticipating it.

I’ve played Mortal Kombat from the beginning, with events coming to a head in 1995 when I got a job at Midway (then Williams Entertainment). I got my foot in the industry with Mortal Kombat 3, and have contributed to pretty much every game in the series since (with the exception of the Part 6 and 7, and Vs. DC). The series may be “just a game” for some, but it was a fairly big chapter of my personal life. I may be inclined to share some of those stories and pictures at some point (and with a little prodding), but I thought since we, the gamer, are being taken back, I thought I’d do a quick run-through of the series.

The 2D Era.

Mortal Kombat – The original game, though a little dated today, offered unique characters and a surprisingly solid Read the rest of this entry

I’ve always had a special place in my gaming heart for the Mortal Kombat series, given my association and involvement with it. I was one of the few that stood up and gave Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe a chance and kudos (something I still stand by today). The gore was neutered, but the gameplay was restored (and it has a much better storyline attempt than Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, which really didn’t try in that specific aspect).

People called for the end of Mortal Kombat, but I stood by it. For a fighter, it’s always been about story, cool characters, and of course, its trademarked gore, all of which got lost along the way. It was becoming a mess at the end, but then, look at the state of the company that was running it at the time.

The new company and lack of a rushed production schedule has seeming been good to this new version. Gone are the lame characters that have grown since the 4th title. Gone are the “collect-a-thon” events that initially seemed cool, but grew tedious. Restored is a new take on the original intent of the story instead of “Every Read the rest of this entry